Member Rating

Compare Prices on Norwegian Jewel Eastern Caribbean Cruises

Norwegian Jewel certainly not a Gem!

Sail Date:
January 2011

Destination:
Eastern Caribbean

Embarkation:
New York (Manhattan)

This was our 4th cruise. We have taken Norwegian 3 times (The Dawn) and Carnival (Victory) once. First off, we were disappointed with the design of the Jewel. We had heard it was newer version of The Dawn. Well, they did a number of things we didn't like. They made kids club much smaller! The on-deck play area for kids and water slide was pathetic, certainly not as nice as The Dawn. The gym was smaller and was tucked into midship, and they eliminated the movie theater.

So if you have kids, big letdown right off the bat.

We started day #1 by checking our kids into Kids Club. We have one child with autism and explained that he needs to move around a bit. We NEVER had problem on The Dawn, so didn't think there would be an issue on this trip. Well 10 minutes after he was in there, they kicked him out. All they did was lecture us on what he did wrong, not inquire as to what he might like to do to help him integrate better.

Please understand, there were 6+ More
counselors for 10 or so kids. Instead of interacting with them, they were LOUNGING on the windows talking amongst each other. What did they have the kids doing? Coloring in a circle on the floor? Do they understand boys like move around a bit? Well, we certainly didn't feel comfortable with staff, and NEVER brought him back. Like I said, never a problem on The Dawn with him.

One of my other sons went to this Kids Club a couple times and for first time ever on cruise ship, said he was BORED in Kids Club. Lots of coloring and doing next to nothing. Once when we picked him up, a counselor was SLEEPING on window sill while kids were doing what you ask? Yup, you guessed it, coloring....

The staff including room stewards, wait staff, and whole crew seemed lackluster. After day 3, there must have been an outbreak of virus because we could no longer serve ourselves food. What made this a big inconvenience is staff did not serve plates, food and drinks, fast enough, thus long lines ensued.

To top it off, we all had stomach issues on boat, for first time cruising.

So I give this cruise a "D-" if you have kids, and a C if you don't.

The entire staff could learn a whole lot by taking a cruise on The Dawn to see how to treat passengers.

I actually hate to write such a negative review, but am just relaying our thoughts about the cruise. I will try another cruise line next time around. Less